Monday... But I know what the truth is.

It is so easy for us to know what the truth is and of course we need to share it. Oh, no, I'm not wrong, I know the truth.

Proverbs 18:2 (NIV) says, "Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions." The Message says, "Fools care nothing for thoughtful discourse; all they do is run off at the mouth."

Now there are many truths in life that are true but we have to believe them in faith. And no way would a smart person believe them.

Here is a story that is found in Matthew 1 that a smart person in no way would believe. They are too smart to believe it.

It starts in verse 18 (NLT). It says, "This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit."

Verse 19, "Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man" Did you know that even righteous people can jump to conclusions and share their opinions on the internet? "and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly." Now that shows that he was an honorable man and that he loved her. But he was confused. And he knew what his family and all other deeply righteous people would think. But he loved her and wanted to protect her even though it seemed that she had not been faithful. So many times when we believe we are right we can be so cruel. This is where truth and grace hit head on.

Verses 20-21, "As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. 'Joseph, son of David,' the angels said, ' do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.'"

A very interesting situation, isn't it? "Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions."

Psalm 138:6 says, "Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble, but he keeps his distance from the proud."

Let's be careful in our opinions when we don't know the whole truth. Any time we point our finger at someone there are three fingers that are pointed back at us.

Now the NT in the Bible is so important but so is the OT. I have just spent some time in reading Isaiah where the prophet gave some clues as to what was going to happen. The first part of Matthew shows the link of the OT to the NT. We need to know the whole story. It is so easy for us to jump to our own conclusions without really knowing what is really happening.

There are going to be some opportunities for us during this season to share our opinions. Yes we do have truths that we live by but God also wants us to show our love for others who may not know what we know and who need our grace.

Listen, God knew what he was doing when he connected Joseph and Mary together. He really did. You see, Joseph was connect to David. That was prophesied. And he was a man who loved God and his future wife and he was opened to what was prophesied.

An angel in the night said to Joseph in verse 22-23, "All of this occured to fulfill the Lord's message through his prophet: 'Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and the will call him Immanuel, (Isa. 7:14; 8:8, 10) which means, '"God with us"'"

Verse 24, "When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus."

Listen, we must live by truth but we also need to live with grace. We may not know the whole story. So let's be careful in sharing our opinions as the whole truth. Yes, Yes! #todaysbeginning

Monday... He did it by Himself

Isaiah 44:24b (AMP), "I am the Lord, Maker of all things. Who alone stretches out the heavens, Who spreads out the earth by Myself." Monday... He did it by Himself. Many have a tendency to think very highly of themselves and what they can do. Oh we do have great ability but we are not the source. Yes it is important to have self-confidence but we are limited. The prophet Isaiah in 44:9-10 (NLT) says, "How foolish are those who manufacture idols. These prized objects are really worthless. The people who worship idols don't know this, so they are all put to shame. Who but a fool would make his own god - an idol that cannot help him one bit?" Now later in verse 24 (AMP) he writes, "For the Lord, your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb says, 'I am the Lord, Maker of all things, Who alone stretches out the heavens, Who spreads out the earth by Myself.'" I love that. "By Myself." Now we do need confidence but we are foolish to ma...

Friday... We have this hope of expectancy.

Psalm 5:3 (NLT), "Listen to my voice in the morning Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly." Friday... We have this hope of expectancy. Now David found a great way to start his day. He says in Psalm 5:1-3 (NLT), "O LORD, hear me as I pray." And that is a great place to start. It really is. Morning sunrise He goes on, "Listen to my cry for help, my King, my God, for I pray to no one but you." And that is so important. We don't try to pump ourselves up by ourself. No, we pray to no one but you, God, my LORD, my King. Now this relationship with God is so, so very important. And then David says, "Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each morning I bring my requests to you" And that is so great. And then he says, "and wait expectantly." Yes, we have this hope of expectancy. We are experienced. That is what a relationship with God and a moment by moment connection does. It makes a difference in our daily wa...

Friday... Yes, we can know this to be true.

Psalm 12:6 (NLT), "The Lord's promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over." Friday... Yes, we can know this to be true. Maybe this is what you want to say in this day in which we live. Psalm 12:1-2 (MSG) says, "Quick, I need your helping hand! The last decent person just went down, all the friends I depend on gone. Everyone talks in lie language; lies slide off their oily lips. They doubletalk with forked tongues." Do you ever feel that way?" Have you found that to be true? Well David the writer of this Psalm continues and says in verse 6 something to encourage us, to lift us up, to give us hope. Psalm 12:6 (NLT) says, "The Lord's promises are pure, like silver refined in a furnace, purified seven times over." The Message Paraphrase says verses 6-8 this way, "God's words are pure words, pure silver words refined seven times in the fires of his word-kiln, pure on earth as well as in heaven, God, keep ...

Todays Beginning

Search This Blog